Heaven's Corridor
by Auruyasha
Summary: It is easy for me to make sacrifices, 'cause that is all my life is worth to anyone anymore. Not even my own father loves me..." Excerpt from story. R
1. I

Auruyasha: This is a reposting of Heaven's Corridor. Since I seem to have plenty of writer's block to go around, I decided to split the chapter's up by the subsections. Anyway, I hope to see more review this time around, and thank you to that special reviewer who I know loved this story! You shall always be held in high regard from now on, since you were my first reviewer for this story! I continue this for you!  
  
Bankotsu: Auru-baka doesn't own Inuyasha, only Angie and Alex Warr.  
  
Auruyasha: squeals and glomps Bankotsu BANKOTSU!!  
  
Bankotsu: 0.0 Help me...

* * *

Chapter 1: Sol, Luna, and the Eclipsed Sun

* * *

"Hey, look! It's that bitch from Señora Garcia's class!"  
  
"Isn't she supposed to be, like, you know, expelled or something?"  
  
"I heard she went to Juvenile Hall for burning down the World Geography room."  
  
"No way! I heard she was convicted for some type of felony."  
  
There it is again. Those damn rumors. I hate what they say about me, but it is true in one sense, though I never committed those crimes. My twin did. She's always thought she was God's gift to man, and thought that she would get away with anything. My dad's had to bust her out of jail five times this summer. I really can't help but be amazed that we came from the same womb, much less that we are almost identical in appearance. The only thing that tells us apart is either our personalities or . . . the scars on our arms. She has one on her right, and mine on my left. We were actually conjoined twins, but we were merely joined at our arms with a thin membrane, but also at our heads. We didn't share that much skin, thank goodness, or else we'd have both died. No. It was like the same with our arms: our heads were stuck together with a very thin membrane. The only thing I can remember was looking across at my sister and thinking, 'Please don't let her die. If anyone is to die, let it be me.'  
  
For some reason, I was extremely intelligent, even as a baby. Though, because my sister ruined my life enough as it is, I only did the work at my sister's grade level. I don't know why, but she's never been as intelligent as me. She's always been the NORMAL one, the one that's always had the guys flock to her, the one that never got in trouble, the one that even my parents bowed down too!  
  
I know I may sound a little jealous, but I'm not. I could never be mad at my own sister, my mirror image.  
  
I turned around to look at the ones gossiping about me, and I almost cry; they were the two guys I've always liked. They were gossiping about me . . . and now, I could never even approach them, they were so sure that I'd done all those bad things.  
  
I forgot to mention that I've been called a whore as well. My sister has always taken it upon herself to please the boys at all our schools, and since we are near identical, they think it was me doing that to them. In their eyes, I'm nothing but a whore trying to earn some big bucks.  
  
Sighing, I just walked away back to my 7th period, since I had A lunch on B days. It was rather tiring, this whole thing about how wild my sister was. It is also kind of strange; she is everything I've always wanted to be, yet never had the courage to do so. My sister would always win at everything, including getting a good friend. Nobody wanted to be my friend, ever since my sister had started acting all wild and crazy.  
  
I sigh now, again, as I thought of her latest escapade: she'd been in the back of her boyfriend's car, in the 69 position, when a third person went in and started making out with them, too. And if I'd told anybody, they'd just either think I was snitching on my sister or that I was lying and it had been me. Of course, it hadn't, but I had been the one to catch all three of them. It had been quite embarrassing from someone like me who's never even kissed anyone before. In fact, I hadn't even been hugged in nine years . . . I haven't been hugged since the day my mother died.  
  
I watched as the classroom filled slowly, each and every one just choosing a random spot close to their friends and setting their backpacks down on the ground, immediately starting to gossip about who did this and who did that. I'm tired of it all. I'm tired of always living in the shadow of my twin. I'm tired of living this miserable existence.  
  
All of a sudden, everyone gasped around me as the lights dimmed, and most of the students rushed to the window, gaping up at the sky at what they saw. I rose up to my full height and looked above their heads, and even I, and I'm rarely surprised by everything, was shocked to see the sun being eclipsed faster then it should have been. "Spread your wings, little fledgling Take flight in the cool air mists Feel the whoosh past your white wings Flying in the sky." I held my breath, hearing a smooth masculine voice being whispered into my ear. Time seemed to slow, as the rest of my classmates kept staring at the darkening sun, and I turned around as if in a dream to look for who had said those words that sounded somehow familiar. "You shall see great lands And far away places you never dreamed possible So spread your wings, Great Bird You are strong." I gasped at who stood before me, smirking slightly. He could not be here, because here in my world he did not exist. He couldn't exist. He was a figment of everyone's minds! "Who are you?!" I cried, grasping my jadeite beetle in panic.  
  
He just continued to stare at me as if in a trance. "I will see you someday, among the beautiful clouds And know that I am with you Maybe not in flesh But always in spirit." My breath hitched, but I didn't know why. This whole thing was confusing, and it seemed that the others could not see what I did. This was definitely out of the ordinary. My eyes started to widen, as I tried to grasp what the meaning of this whole thing was. "Hang on, my friend I'll never let you down Or fall from the enormous skies filled with adventures." My vision of the classroom started to fade, replaced with the site of a dense forested area in which stood a large tree of unrecognizable origin and a well. I blinked, wondering vaguely if I was going insane.  
  
I looked around momentarily before looking back at him. He was as before, staring straight through me in a trance and reciting those words that seemed to entice me to stay in this world that was materializing before me. "Here and there we travel great skies so vast Never regretting the decisions we made as kids But now that we've seen all there is to see I don't know if I ever want to land." I gasped, falling backwards as dizziness enveloped my being. "No!!" I screamed, falling hard onto the hard linoleum that covered the classroom floor, and I knew I was safe then, safe from that world I was not supposed to see as reality. Safe from that frightening man who had piqued my interest in history.  
  
I could not believe that I had just seen Sesshoumaru.  
  
"Angie, are you alright?" my World History teacher, Mr. Simons, asked me curiously, standing over me.  
  
I blushed slightly, not enough to tell, though, and shot up, returning to take my seat as all the others were doing so. I looked out the window and was surprised to see the solar eclipse had lasted only long enough for Sesshoumaru to complete his eerie poem/song. I shuddered to think what would've happened if I'd actually went through with it and stayed there . . .  
  
Wait a second! What the hell am I thinking? Maybe I am going insane, from all these years of repressing my intelligence so as not to draw too much attention towards myself. Or maybe it was because of those blasted rumors...  
  
All I knew right then was that whatever had happened, I hadn't been hallucinating. It had been real.  
  
†  
  
After that eerie incident earlier today, I decided it was time to brush up on the only past time that my sister never liked: writing fanfiction for my favorite anime, of which that Sesshoumaru person was a part. Of course, after I had hitched a ride with my carpool, I'd rushed onto the Internet as fast as I could to check the reviews I'd gotten for some of my latest fics. There wasn't much, but I hadn't expected any when I'd first started it. But unfortunately, most of them were flames. I sighed as I noticed a lot more flames. Only a few people said it was good, but the majority said things like "Take it off", "It sucks!", bust most of them said "Why are you writing fanfics anyway?". I brushed away the tears forming in my eyes. Even on the Internet, the most secretive of places, people did not like me.  
  
"I just wish that I didn't have to lead such a life," I whispered aloud, logging off and took my floppy disk out of the hard drive, walking sullenly back to my own room. Thank goodness I didn't have to share it with my sister . . .  
  
I turned my PC on, flicking it over to one of my favorite usernames. I waited for a little while for it to boot up to that username, afterwards accessing my latest fanfic. It hadn't been the one I was posting, but rather one for my own enjoyment. I rather liked writing, and my mother used to say, even thought I was barely six, that I wrote as well as some of the world's top novelists. Unfortunately, my sister had just started getting all wild and crazy, and then my mother died. She'd died of a brain tumor, but I knew it was something else. I knew my father had deliberately told me a lie so as not to worry. But I did. I was also rather confused as why would a human die of an earwig? Later, I came to realize that is was because the earwig had been female and had laid eggs in my mother's brain. I was never the same again.  
  
Shaking my head, I sighed and began typing, my fingers dancing over the keyboard in an attempt to get down all my thoughts about the story, forming it into an intricate web of plots, twists, and confusion.  
  
Much later, about three hours or so, my sister, Alex, burst into the room and flung herself on my bed. "Hey, twister!" She smiled foolishly, grabbing one of the many mangas littering my floor and flipping through a few pages. She snorted and tossed it at me, barely missing my ear. "Stupid idiot!" She cursed, jumping up and hitting me on the cheek, so hard I was sure it wouldn't be long before I was sporting a decent sized black bruise. She was the stronger one, naturally.  
  
"Don't do that, Alex." I said quietly, keeping my eyes trained on the computer screen. She just snorted and gave me a noogie, but a very playful one that you'd expect two siblings to share. It was deliberately painful. "Dumb-ass." She said simply, flinging herself back down on my bed. "Heard you made an ass of yourself in Mr. Simons class today," she told me, staring up at my blank ceiling. How different we were, someone at least could have told us apart.  
  
I blinked and lowered my gaze to my lap. It had been true, because nearly everyone had asked me why I had fallen backwards, screaming.  
  
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her malicious grin. She knew she was hitting a sore spot with her vicious words. "Oh! So you DID make an ass of yourself today? I thought that wasn't you, Angie!" She screamed with laughter, annoying me to no end with her maddening high-pitched voice.  
  
Finally snapping, I stood up so fast my chair flipped backwards and I slapped her without thinking, scratching her with my long nails. I don't really care about my nails, but I had sharpened them into points to resemble claws just for fun. They drew blood, marring her disgustingly haughty face loaded with make-up.  
  
In that moment, we did not look alike at all. Our personalities had changed our appearances so much, it was almost if that we were not even related.  
  
I growled incoherently, glaring at her with such venom that only later I realized that I had finally did what I'd always wanted to.  
  
Her hand touched her pale cheek with trembling fingers, coming away soaked in blood, powder, and blush. She stared at me with the eyes of a panicked and frightened creature. I was sure as the nine hells that she finally realized that I was completely different then what I portrayed on the outside. I think she finally realized that true strength came deep within your body, not from physical feelings. Mine came from my mentality and emotions, spurred on from being treated harshly during my young life.  
  
She finally came to terms that I would not be treated ugly by her anymore, so she did the only thing she could at the moment: she ran to our father, crying over and over how I'd hurt her.  
  
At that moment, I didn't care that I'd probably get whipped or spanked for daring to touch my 'goddess' sister. I only cared that I had finally showed her what it felt like to be frightened of something, dreading what that person would do if you were to push them just an inch farther then they were.  
  
At that moment, I fainted.  
  
High above the ground, the moon appeared and began moving of its own accord across the sky towards the sun, enveloping it in its cold embrace. The two became one, and the one they became was more glorious then anyone ever could imagine. The gods Sol and Luna had become one being.

* * *

End Chapter: Sol, Luna, and the Eclipsed Sun


	2. II

Auruyasha: sniffles I... I got something in my eye.  
  
Bankotsu: Just tell them that you're crying because you can't beat Nightmare on Devil May Cry.  
  
Auruyasha: glares and sniffs Just because that's true doesn't mean that I'm crying. Now shut up and do the disclaimer.  
  
Bankotsu: grumbles Fine... Auruyasha only owns Angie and Alex Warr, and not the Inuyasha cast.

* * *

Chapter 2: Sunken Forest

* * *

Sesshoumaru sat before the fire that Jaken had prepared for the long, cold night ahead, with his charge, Rin, having already fallen asleep next to him. He sighed and reflected back upon the events of the day, lingering on that one vision of the girl with strange hair that looked to be neither youkai, nor any human species he was familiar with.  
  
He sighed, which was very unlike him, and looked down at Rin's angelic sleeping face. She was a human, yet she was not afraid of him, even at their first meeting, she'd only helped him. He'd sensed Rin's good nature with the emotional smell radiating off her, and what he'd smelled off of the strange human girl had been similar, yet somehow different. She'd smelled like a person waiting for her life to end, but still wanted to make sure others were all right. He could tell she was a normally selfless girl, much like Rin was...  
  
Maybe that girl is Rin in another form? Or perhaps a family relation . . . I doubt both those prospects. Anyhow, if I were to meet that girl, I'd take her for Rin's surrogate mother so that Jaken can get back to more important business besides babysitting my charge.  
  
Having made up his mind, he stared back into the fire, wondering where that infuriating toad had gotten too, when, all of a sudden, a light body landed on top of his head, sending him face first into the hot ash surrounding the fire bed.  
  
He shot up, knocking the body off him and brushed the ash from his face, growling all the while at whom would dare to send the Lord of the Western Lands into a fire pit. He turned around, blinking to clear his eyes of the hot ash.  
  
"Shit! It's cold here!" The person who'd fallen on him exclaimed, clutching a strange garment about her shoulders that looked to be red, puffy, and slightly woolen on the inside. He blinked again as he noticed her facial traits that did not coincide with the humans around here. Her eyes were open wider, with a slight almond shape to them, and they were so dark they seemed almost black. Her hair was a dark brown color, with a faint touch of red, black, and yellow. It was short and fluffy at the nape of her neck, long and straight at the top of head. She looked very strange, but at the same time a refreshing sight to the normal annoying humans that inhabited the area.  
  
Also, he noticed, was that her smell was not of normal humans. He knew of only two humans that did not have the normal dirty smell that usually permeated the air surrounding a human, and one was his Rin. The other had been the miko that traveled with his half-brother. The girl's smell was quite strange, but he placed it as raspberry and a slight forest smell, as if she were tied with nature in more ways then on the outside.  
  
He stared at her body next, blinking rapidly. He didn't know that a human woman could be strong looking and not super-thin, as a lot of females tended to half-starve themselves to have small waists. She appeared at ease with what nature had given her, yet she had large breasts that were perky with youth, and he could tell that, despite their size, they would stay firm even in old age. The human girl was quite strange indeed.  
  
That was when she noticed him.  
  
Her eyes widened in surprise as she screamed out one confusing sentence: "You can't be Sesshoumaru!" She pointed a finger at him, her face in a comical expression of disbelief. "Sesshoumaru doesn't exist!"  
  
He flinched at her loud words, but he only started to get annoyed when Rin started to arouse, obviously wondering what all the yelling about was. "Be quiet, wench," he said in a tone that was meant to put even the strongest of people to silence.  
  
Her hands covered her mouth, her already super wide eyes going wider. "Ack! You ARE real!"  
  
He kept his face stoic, though he was getting quite pissed off. "Shut your mouth, human," he said again, cracking his knuckles as part of the last warning.  
  
She started breathing rapidly, and he could hear her heartbeat flutter under the strain, as it was rather loud, pounding as it tried to pour blood through her lungs to gain enough oxygen for enough support to her body. She looked at him worriedly, clutching a small necklace at her throat. The hand that was free was groping around inside of her pocket, looking for something.  
  
He watched as she pulled out a strange looking device and checked it, her breathing slowing as her heartbeat slowed to a dull thud. "Shit," he heard her whimper as she collapsed to her knees.  
  
He watched her relax her grip on the necklace and transfer her hands to the ground, scraping the dirt under her sharpened nails. "How could this happen?" She whispered aloud, and a slightly salty smell tainted her smell and the air. "How could this happen to me? This can't be real . . ."  
  
He recognized it as tears, and his only thought then was to get her to stop. In a mere millisecond, he stood before her with her chin in his grip so that he could look into her dark colored eyes. "Girl," he said in an almost scolding tone. "How can you think this isn't real when you stand right here, having pushed me into the fire pit?"  
  
She stared into the amber eyes that had haunted her dreams since the first she'd seen him, which hadn't been in this world. She blinked, her tears stopping as her brain worked feverishly to explain something, but it was beyond her contemplation for once in her life. "Wh . . . why? Why am I here?" She questioned, her voice going back to its normal deep feminine tone, devoid of any panic.  
  
He blinked, having not expected her voice to be so low, but still like a woman's. It was husky, yet he could tell that her voice could be very expressive. "I do not know that, wench. But you will come with to take care of my charge now that you are here," he told her, dropping her head and turning to stride away. "Stay here tonight and make sure nothing gets to her, else you shall pay dearly. I shall return late the next day. Keep her safe."  
  
He disappeared with those last words, making the girl's heart beat faster, but not with panic. "I really am here . . . in this world that I never dreamed could exist in actuality."  
  
†  
  
Later after that strange meeting, I felt my anger rise again as the hours went on and on, but I kept vigil. I didn't know why, but I wanted to prove to Sesshoumaru that I could keep the orphan girl safe throughout the night. It wasn't like I've stayed up all night before, but the school days have always tired me out so that I had to just fall on my bed to fall asleep.  
  
Though, that night I did not let it bother me. If my eyes started to close on me, due to weariness, I would simply either pinch myself or take out an M&M and chew on it slowly, letting the chocolate and sugar flow through my blood stream and revitalize my system.  
  
The fire had dimmed, but I found a few dry branches near the campsite to compensate for the lack of good firewood for the rest of the night. By the time the sun peaked into the sheltered woods, I was extremely tired and was down to half of my secret M&M stash. I checked my cell phone again and groaned when it read out 8: 35 AM. Great. I was late for school, and I'd yet to actually figure out what was wrong.  
  
"Sesshoumaru-sama?" The little girl asked drowsily, and I was again surprised that I could understand her, cause I knew she was speaking Japanese. I hadn't learned any Japanese to understand, yet I did so perfectly, and they understood me. This was quite a weird world.  
  
I smiled at her and offered my hand. "I'm Angela Warr, but you can call me Angie. Your Sesshoumaru-sama told me to watch over you for today," I told her as gently as I could.  
  
She smiled brightly, grasping my hand and giving it a vigorous shake. "Rin's name is Rin! Rin is glad that Rin doesn't have to play with Jaken- sama anymore!" She grinned toothily at me, but I wrinkled my nose as I smelled how unclean she was.  
  
"Hey, kid," I smiled nervously, hoping that she'd understand me. "I think that we should find a hot spring or something to take a bath, I'm sure we're offending at least one animal's nose with our stinky bodies."  
  
She cocked her head at me, trying to grasp my meaning.  
  
I sighed, getting up and stretching the cricks from my body. Yup, I definitely needed to take a cold bath. I grinned down at her, offering her a hand up. "We're going to go look for a small lake or spring to wash ourselves in, okay, Rin?"  
  
She nodded, finally understanding. "Rin knows a good one! Rin saw one yesterday before Sesshoumaru-sama told Rin to go to sleep for the night! Follow Rin!" The kid was cute, I had to admit. She bounded ahead, dragging me by my hand to get me to follow.  
  
I smiled, feeling a little more light-hearted then I'd had in years as I watched the carefree child smile and laugh. We reached the small springs in a few minutes. It was absolutely beautiful, complete with a small waterfall. I was absolutely enamored with the hot spring.  
  
I smiled at the kid who'd followed me to the edge, and squealed like a little girl. I hadn't been so happy to see water in my entire life!  
  
I started taking off my sneakers, carefully unlacing them so as not to rip them off in my haste. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rin start to dangle her feet in the water like a small child, kicking the surface of the water.  
  
I finished with my shoes and took off my thick red woolen jacket, trying not to feel the cold on my bare shoulders. Sometimes I really hated wearing my little black tank top, but it would prove ample covering in this strange world for any hentai's to come in and look in on me.  
  
"Angie-sama!" Rin cried as something dragged her beneath the water's surface.  
  
I gasped and started flinging off my jeans, glad I was wearing my bicycle shorts underneath, and dove into the water, ignoring the sting as water touched my unprotected eyes and nose. I wasn't used to swimming with my nose and eyes open underwater without the aid of a mask, but I hadn't the time; Rin was in danger and I was acting completely on instinct.  
  
I saw Rin right in front of me, struggling to get out of the grasp of an octopus-like youkai. I could tell it was a youkai by its screeching voice and glowing red eyes. I did not hesitate; I propelled myself fast enough to ram into the thing's tentacles that were wrapped around the small girl and I use what strength I had to pull them off her, pushing her to the surface with one hand as the youkai wrapped itself around me, not going to loose another free meal.  
  
I struggled with it, but I was beginning to loose air, and my lungs started to burn horribly. I wasn't even thinking about myself then. I kept thinking about how I'd promised Sesshoumaru to protect Rin, and that by dying this way I was somehow failing him. My conscience would not let me to allow that to happen, and I fought for all I was worth, feeling a strange warm feeling envelope me.  
  
I would not let that thing kill me!  
  
I gasped as a bright light shimmered before me, and a familiar energy whip cut the octopus-thing into several bite-size chunks before my eyes.  
  
Without the air in my lungs, I started to sink slowly, but I was adamant not to let Sesshoumaru down. I would not let him down . . . I would not let him down . . . I kicked my feet, regretting somewhat that I hadn't learned to swim properly. I would not let that get in my way, though, and kicked my feet harder, desperate for air and to make sure the girl Rin was alright.  
  
I inhaled the precious air as I broke the surface, but I had only enough time to get a mouthful before my weight dragged me back down. I blinked underwater and searched for the edge of the spring, and swam towards it with all my might, breaking to the surface for more air once I reached it.  
  
Before I could haul my ass out of there, a clawed hand shot out and lifted me from the water and held me about a foot off the ground as I met a pair of very angry amber eyes. "What the hell do you think your doing with getting my charge almost drowned by a octopus-youkai, wench?!"  
  
I coughed, but directed it downwards so as not to offend him. I was as good as dead by then, so it didn't really matter if I answered.  
  
"But, Sesshoumaru-sama! Angie-sama saved Rin!" I heard from behind him, and my face visibly fell. I didn't want Rin to know that I'd failed her surrogate father...  
  
He looked me in the eye, but I looked away. I've never been able to look anyone in the eye. "Is that true, wench?"  
  
I gasped, finding my voice, but it was sad that is sounded so small compared to his angry one. "I . . . yes, Lord." I added, feeling very insignificant at the moment.  
  
I could tell he was staring at my face, and a moment later I was dropped to the ground. "Put on you strange garments and hurry up. We are returning to my castle."  
  
I nodded, glad that my life was spared for now. I don't know what happened to the Angie who'd dove in after the little girl, or even the one that had slapped my own twin, but I knew at that moment, I was myself around Sesshoumaru, who was now my lord and master.  
  
How strange my life had become.

* * *

End Chapter 2: Sunken Forest

* * *

Auruyasha: yawns I need to go get more of my triple-chocolate ice cream.  
  
Bankotsu: is still tied to her bed When are you going to let me go?  
  
Auruyasha: grins Whenever I feel like it.  
  
Bankotsu: Crud...  
  
Adios! 


	3. III

* * *

Auruyasha: grumbles, still trying to defeat Nightmare  
  
Bankotsu: laughs nervously and holds up a sign Auruyasha doesn't own Inuyasha, but owns Angie and Alex Warr. And don't disturb her while she's trying to defeat Nightmare on Devil May Cry!

* * *

Chapter 3: Bloody Angel

* * *

The trip to Sesshoumaru's castle after the incident at the hot spring was quite boring, at least for Rin and Sesshoumaru. Jaken kept squawking about 'too many humans' traveling with Sesshoumaru, but I didn't really care at that moment. It just got irritating when he started tripping me on purpose and trying to get me to yell at Rin, just so Sesshoumaru could kill me right then. If it hadn't been for my dealings with my twin for my life time, I'd probably have snapped by then, but I'd kept my face in the normal stoic expression Sesshoumaru wore, but I smiled whenever Rin was around, but only at her. I wouldn't have guessed it then, but I was making his lordship uneasy by the way I took to being a servant so easily.  
  
Just wait until he finds out just how I really am deep down.  
  
But, the most interesting—or should I say most annoying—incident on the return was the fact that we ran into somebody I'd never expected to appear here in my favorite anime no less.  
  
"Angie!" I heard a familiar screeching shriek in the direction we had just come, and I stopped dead in my tracks as I realized that this was not a dream. Somehow the Fates love messing with my boring life. I spun around just in time to be tackled by my mirror image, which was wearing her normal sluttish pink outfit. She rubbed her face against my neck, obviously glad to have me back. She would only do that just when she got out of jail or something that had separated us for an amount of time. "Angie! Dear sister, I missed you so!"  
  
My hands twitching, I pushed her off me and stood up fast, my normal stoic mask set in place, though I was way blushing inside. If I had a chance for Sesshoumaru actually liking me at least a little bit, then Alex had just destroyed it. "Damnit Alex!" I glared, folding my arms. "What the hell do you think you're doing here?"  
  
She blinked at me, completely confused, but I noticed the first instant when she set her gaze on my lord and master. I could tell by just her expression alone that she was already thinking of lying with him, and for some unknown reason a vein in my temple throbbed in irritation and some other emotion I couldn't explain or recognize. "Angie! Who's the hottie with you?" She practically purred while doing her annoying little swish of the hips she probably thought would entice him.  
  
I took a quick glance at Sesshoumaru and noticed his eyes giving off a faint sign of carnal hunger, and I nearly threw up. Well, gagged more like it as I started a coughing/choking fit. I gasped for breath as my eyes widened with sickening realization. God! What had made me think that Sesshoumaru was a cold fish?!  
  
Sighing, I sat on the ground and waited for someone to break the silence. For a moment, I wished that I could just go and shoot something. Unfortunately, it was automatically buried in the recesses of my mind, with all the other vicious thoughts. I just hoped that whoever unleashed them and caused me to go berserk kept me out of reach of anything remotely resembling anything. They'd have to lock me up in a padded cell to keep me from killing people, as I'd read enough to know that I could use anything as a weapon. Hell, I could use a stuffed animal as a lethal weapon if I got my hands on it!  
  
Whoa, back to the matter at hand.  
  
"Angie-sama?" Rin sidled over to me, dutifully averting her eyes from the obviously attracted couple.  
  
I glanced at her and smiled, thinking idly that if Alex were to have any children she'd probably foist them on me, as I was great with kids, but not people my own age or above. Weird, I know. "Yes, Rin? What is it?"  
  
She smiled and sat by me, sliding her small hand into mine. "Why does that lady look like Angie-sama? Are you both the same person?"  
  
I laughed contentedly, ignoring the jealousy coursing through my veins. I now knew what that weird emotion was, but I didn't like it. It was weird and made me think of killing my own twin . . . "She is my twin, Rin. We are sisters, but we look alike," I told her, patting her small head.  
  
We kept smiling at each other until a dull shock pulled sluggishly through my senses, drawing my attention to a darkened area of the forest on the right side of the road that we were traveling west on. I blinked and gaped as a giant lumbering ugly ogre youkai stepped out of the forest, his crimson eyes looking bloodthirsty. I looked around and scratched my head when I noticed that my sister already had Sesshoumaru in the bushes, and I saw a lot of clothes scattered already, with more on the way. I sighed, thinking that even Jaken wouldn't even help, because I'd noticed that he'd run away as soon as my sister had appeared.  
  
Taking a defensive stance and pushing Rin behind me, I waited for the ogre to come and get me. Sesshoumaru had appointed me as Rin's guardian, and so shall I remain until further notice.  
  
I gasped as I heard its voice inside my head, pleading with me. "Help me, strange human! I can tell you have great powers! Help me, as Naraku has placed a curse upon me with a shard of the shikon no tama . . . help me!"  
  
It roared aloud as the weak voice in my head screeched, and I acted purely on instinct as I pushed Rin away, getting swiped into a tree fifty feet away as the ogre grinned maliciously at me. I struggled to sit up and somehow my mind was numbed when Sesshoumaru didn't get out of those damn bushes to help his charge, or his new servant. For all he cared, we were both going to die.  
  
Something clicked inside my head at that last thought. I felt a mental dam break free in my mind, flooding it with new but familiar energy. I'd felt this before, when I was a small baby being held by my mother . . .  
  
With unnatural, I jumped up and away as the ogre slashed down again, thanking the Gods that my sneakers were made of rubber and not any of that expensive crap my twin liked. I flipped in the air, landing with speed and grabbing Rin up off the ground where she'd fallen and ran to a safe spot, depositing her after giving her orders to stay there until either I, Sesshoumaru, or Jaken came to get her.  
  
I ran off and faced the ogre again and I nearly fell on my face when the bushes Sesshoumaru and Alex were currently behind began moving and making funny noises. I'll never understand the act of sex.  
  
I focused quickly and pushed my newfound energy between my palms, willing it to take shape. Instantaneously, a sword formed, glowing with an ethereal light. I flicked my gaze at my opponent, my eyes radiating my willingness to help the creature. I wouldn't let it die, but I wouldn't let it reek terror and destruction upon unsuspecting humans. I rushed forward, just in time to see it ready an arm to slash at the bushes. I ran even faster and harder, moving like a blur as tears streamed out behind me. "Cleansing Sword!" I screamed on reflex, slicing the poor creature across the chest. A moment later the body fizzled away to nothing and a shard was retrieved by one of Naraku's stupid bee-things. I slumped to my knees, staring at the blood that was covering my hands. I'd never killed anything before . . .  
  
"Thank you, human from a distant land," a voice whispered on the winds, swirling about me soothingly. "Do not hate yourself for rescuing my soul . . . in return, I grant you this." It faded away to nothing as the winds swirled faster in my hands, brightening in a shape that I vaguely recognized as a circlet, fit for my head. As the winds and light died, I stared at the simple circlet. It was made of pure steel, which was odd, and the only decoration was a bright peridot, my birthstone, in the form of a tear in the center. I clutched it to my chest and whispered my thanks to the departed soul. I knew what it was for, and I cried a little more.  
  
"I shall protect this treasure," I told the winds, looking heavenwards as I slipped the circlet over my forehead. It fit perfectly, as if it was made for me, and I stood up, revitalized.  
  
"Angie," my stupid sister called, spoiling the moment. "Where's that kid you were with? Sesshou-chan and I need to get back to his castle soon!" She called out, retrieving her clothing, not even caring that she and my lord were nude.  
  
Just like that last time in the car. I rolled my eyes and went off in search of Rin, hoping she was okay, and kind of hoping that Sesshoumaru would just get tired of my sister and be rid of either her or me. Rather, me, and use my sister as the next nurse for Rin. Wait. She wouldn't take care of the child . . . Damn it all to hell and back, I'm so confused!  
  
I walked away from them to retrieve Rin, not even caring or noticing that the tears were streaming down my face was the color of blood.  
  
†  
  
"Bored, bored, bored!" I chanted slowly, staring out the window at the lovely day while I was stuck here in the room full of youkai maids. I should've expected 'lord' Sesshoumaru to put me with the other household servants, but he'd practically thrown me to the dogs! If it hadn't been for my circlet that signaled something I didn't know, I'd be his kibble for breakfast in the mornings. I believe now that his hatred for anything remotely having any human blood to be crap had poisoned the household, but they soon accepted me as a quiet and unapproachable person, once they saw that sluttish sister of mine following around the master everywhere, always hanging on his arm. God, how I was so tired of hearing the stupid gossip about them having sex. It made me sick, the way they went at it like that. I sighed noticeably. If I hadn't done blood tests on my family and myself to confirm I was human and their child, I would've thought that I wasn't human.  
  
Fact is, I've never felt human, much less a real relative to my family. The only time I felt human and wanted as a daughter was before my mother died . . .  
  
I heard a commotion at the edge of the maids' hall, and I turned to see what was wrong. It was just my luck that I found out, because it gave the perfect opportunity to test my skills in a particular area and get rid of my boredom.  
  
"The belly-dancer from across the sea broke her leg! She can't perform with the rest of us tonight for Lord Sesshoumaru-sama!" A rather young looking neko youkai I'd come to know as Chiyo exclaimed, swinging her tail in distraught. Her eyes were puffy from crying, and she was panting from running so far; the castle really was big. "What are we going to do?" She cried as the rest of the maids tried to calm her.  
  
Idly, I got up from my place by the window and walked towards them, gaining whispers from the youkai that noticed me. I stopped in front of Chiyo and kneeled down next to her. "Will you permit me to take her place?" I asked politely, as the maids around us blinked. They had never heard my deep voice before, and I'm sure they were so surprised it was so rich.  
  
She looked up at me, her green eyes dancing with hope. "You would do that for us, Angela?" She asked, her long sinuous tail rose in the air happily.  
  
I nodded, but kept my stoic face. "Of course. I am not of any use here for now," I told her, and it was the truth; Rin had caught a little cold and I was not allowed to take care of her.  
  
She smiled brightly, grabbed my hand and I was suddenly flying down the hallway towards the one where the entertainers usually practiced. She stopped in front of an Asian woman that was sitting among some cushions, sipping a small drink as her mangled leg was propped up on an extra set of pillows. "Xiang-san!" Chiyo cried, nearly bouncing up and down with her exuberance. "We found a replacement for you for tonight's show for his lordship!"  
  
I gulped and watched as the stern woman's gaze swept down my body, obviously wondering how a person my size could possibly dance. She sighed, closing her eyes as she set the drink down. "Tell me why you think you can belly-dance for his lordship when you are not skinny," she demanded, her sharp cat eyes piercing mine, but I didn't let her see it effect me.  
  
"I used to practice it when I was a little girl," I said, ignoring her raised eyebrow. "Let me prove myself right now, and I'll take your place so his lordship will not hurt anyone." I pleaded, my façade falling faster then my sister's panties could ever do so.  
  
She smiled at me suddenly. "I see now that it is indeed in your blood; I can see it in your eyes." Her face grew sterner here. "But we need cover up your face so that his lordship will not confuse you with that sluttish twin of yours."  
  
I was lost in a sudden crowd of people stripping my clothes and forcing another set on me; putting earrings in my ears that were long and dangling; fitting my a little bigger than normal foot into dancing slippers; painting a henna tattoo on my arm; and finally tying a veil about my face as they painted my eyes to look more Asian.  
  
I looked at myself in a distant mirror and smiled, realizing that one part of myself that I'd thought I'd lost was back, raring to show the world just what Angie Warr could do. I glanced back Xiang and saw her smile, holding out a pair of zils to me. "Good luck, human," she smiled, her eyes warm, just like my mother's had been the first time I'd showed her all that I'd learned.  
  
I guess it was time, as the other dancers were filing out to perform. While they filed out slowly, Chiyo instructed me on what I was to do, and said that I didn't have to do any synchronized dancing with the others, as I was the main attraction and that I only had to go out there for the last twenty minutes or so to complete the dance.  
  
It came to be my turn too soon, but I went out anyway and heard the music played louder, for my benefit. I quickly glanced at Sesshoumaru and my nose burned as I saw my sister being coddled on his lap. Damn that bitch of a sister.  
  
No time for thought, I began to flow with the music, releasing all my frustrations and anger into my movements, but I knew that was wrong. I soon realized what I was doing and forced good thoughts into my head and began to dance smoother then before, and I noticed then that my body movements had become more fluid in motion as my body had matured; Xiang was right: I did have this in my blood. It came naturally to me.  
  
Figuring it was time to alter my motions, I kicked my leg high into the air and flipped around, and bent over backwards and did a back flip, giving the audience a momentary view of wrapped privates. I closed my eyes and moved with the music, as the musicians took my cue to play a faster paced tune. I felt like working off a little more energy, so I slipped my hands into my pocket momentarily and grasped the zils, slipping them over my fingers and immediately clapping them along with the music, drawing the audience's attention away from their dinners as they wondered who that mysterious belly-dancer was. Wouldn't it just anger my lord and Alex to discover it was me who was drawing all the attention.  
  
Suddenly, the music slowed to a stop as I stopped in mid-motion, pausing with one leg raised in the air as I looked upside down at the audience. They clapped furiously, and some even whistled. I couldn't help but think it was the whole dance, but later Chiyo said it was all because of me.  
  
I quickly left through the curtains and changed in a daze, wiping the make- up off and the henna, glad that I could remove it this early and it wouldn't stain my skin. I didn't want anyone else knowing that was I out there.  
  
As I finished changing, my lord stepped through the curtains without Alex in tow, which was quite an oddity because I was so used to seeing them together. His eyes scanned over the people in the room, but he skipped over me. "Where is that belly-dancer that was just out there?" He demanded, a little vestige of emotion leaking through his voice. "I wish to know who she was; she was like an angel fallen among us demons and mortals."  
  
Shit! I made Sesshoumaru wax poetry with just a simple dance? Man, I needed to do this more often.

* * *

End Chapter 3: Bloody Angel


	4. IV

Bankotsu: She doesn't own Inuyasha. Only Angie and Alex Warr.

* * *

Chapter 4: Numbed Wolf Encounters

* * *

About a week later after the performance, Angie was sitting quietly outside with Rin sitting in her lap as they both watched the small water-birds flap playfully in the ornamental pond in the center of the gardens that were on the extensive grounds of Sesshoumaru's lands. Rin was taking a small nap while the older girl brushed her hair softly, who couldn't help but feel like a surrogate mother to the small child.  
  
Angie sighed and leaned back on her hands, staring up at the 3 o'clock sun. She shielded her eyes if it got too bright, but some clouds were passing over it just then, so it was okay. In her minds eye, though, she kept thinking back to the day before yesterday when her own twin had forgotten that Angie had even existed.  
  
"Ow! Watch it, you stupid maid! I could have Sesshou-chan kill you right now if I wanted to!"  
  
"But, sister. It's me, Angie!"  
  
"Angie who? I don't know any Angie . . ."  
  
Wiping the tears from her eyes, she faced the truth and embraced it whole- heartedly. "Sister was right . . . I'll never ever be able to beat her at anything . . . Sometimes I wish, mother," she whispered to the sky, absently stroking the peridot on her circlet. "That I had been your only baby girl . . ."  
  
"Angie-sama wishes to be an only child?" Rin asked, looking up at her with sleep-dazed eyes. "Rin doesn't understand, Angie-sama."  
  
Looking down at her little charge, Angela smiled. "You'll understand what me and my sister are like someday, Rin." She said, tapping the small girl's nose lightly.  
  
Giggling, Rin edged away out of Angie's reach before demanding in much the same matter that she'd seen Sesshoumaru do. "Tell me what is going on between you and Alexandra-sama, Angie-sama!"  
  
The teenager sighed and laid back, resting her arms behind her head. "My sister and I, we've always been exact opposites," she started as she closed her eyes and savored the calm that she found beneath her lids. "Alex was always the wild one, and I was the intelligent one. She could do everything she or I ever wanted to do, including getting any guy. Though, Alex has just now recently been getting too wild, and has always blamed the things that happened on me . . . No one wanted to be my friend, and soon I was as alone as if I'd been the last person on earth," she whispered, not even noticing that not only Rin still listened, but three other people who'd stumbled upon them as well. "I suppose you can call it intuition, but I'd always hoped that one thing would never come between us, and now it already has. I no longer have my own twin, of which we shared the same skin at one point. I no longer feel human; I just feel numb inside. She's always stolen or destroyed anything that ever gave me joy. She even took away my one chance at a normal life, with a decent friend or boyfriend." Angie kept her eyes closed, but tears just seeped through. "I still love her as my twin, but I can't help but think I should have died when we were born. It is easy for me to make sacrifices, cause that is all my life is worth to anyone anymore. Not even my own father loves me . . . the only person that ever made me feel normal was my mother, and she is dead because of a brain disease. I can't help but feel that in that instant I should have taken her place, but I hadn't..." She sat up and curled up as her next words were uneven as her body shook with the tears that came forth. "I love her, and I would do anything to make sure she is happy; even give up my own chance." She shook with bottled up emotions and gritted her teeth. "I know I shouldn't be saying this to you, Rin, but I just have to get this out: I hate not being able to make everybody happy! I'm not even able to make myself happy, so what chance do I have to take on the world? Why was I cursed in such a way..."  
  
Angie relaxed, her breathing slowing. "I'm... sorry, Rin, mother, Alex, father, Sesshoumaru, everyone... I'll always fail you because I cannot do anything but screw everything up..."  
  
The girl finally fell asleep, having cried herself silly. Rin stepped forward and laid her hand on Angie's head, wishing to help the older girl. She looked up and frowned at Sesshoumaru and Alex, shaking her head. She glanced back down before looking them in the eye. "You made Angie-sama cry!" She blamed them, huddling down next to the silent girl and searched for the warmth the older lass always seemed to have an abundance of. "Angie- sama doesn't deserve such sadness," she told them, glaring at them as much as she could behind tears. "Rin doesn't want to loose Angie-sama like Rin's mother! You jerks!"  
  
†  
  
The next morning, I awoke with such a headache, I just knew that what I'd admitted to Rin was reality. I'd thought it'd been all a dream last night, but after waking to find my eyes itchy and my little black tank top stained with tears. I'd taken to wearing that around lately, because the winter months were receding and I didn't like being hot, though I still hated it when one of the male guards made a perverted comment. Feeling a slight pressure pushing me down into the soft dewy grass, I turned my head and smiled, giggling at the sight of Rin made sleeping on my back, her little hands clutched in my shirt as if she would loose me if she let go. I blinked when I felt this warm feeling in my chest, something that I'd never before experienced . . . something nice.  
  
To say the least, I was very touched by the scene, and would have eventually moved her to get up, if it hadn't been for the sudden storm striking down upon the small garden with such fury, I feared for both our lives.  
  
I jerked us both up, carrying the small child in my arms, as I looked frantically around for any shelter, no matter how rickety if it could withstand this fury. The rain beat down upon the back of my unprotected neck and head, jarring me into painful realization that the rain would soon turn to hail. Do not ask me how I knew this, but I'd once been told to trust your instincts during a storm or else you'd wind up dead, and Rin's life depended on my ability to outwit this storm.  
  
Since the castle was too far away to reach, I ran towards the small grove of cherry trees that lined to outskirts of the castle grounds. I looked down at my small charge and fretted with worry, for she was already starting to shiver, even though she wore much more clothing then I did. I didn't even care about my condition right then; Rin had much more to live for then I did.  
  
I reached the tree lines just in time, as the hail started to fall without mercy. I panted for breath, wringing the water from my shirt and hair before turning to take care of Rin. She wasn't that soaked as me, but it was still enough to give her serious chills if I didn't get her warmed up soon.  
  
Ignoring what my mind told me was futile, I grabbed her and held her close, hoping to share my abundance of body heat to keep her warm in the absence of a fire. I wouldn't have believed so, but I felt fiercely motherly to the small girl with whom I was put in charge of. Despite my sixteen years of upbringing that dictated I would never be a good mother, I figured I was doing pretty well with Rin. I hoped.  
  
I did not want Rin to die because of my foolishness. I could not live with something that heart wrenching on my soul.  
  
For hours we waited out in the raging storm, no one coming to our rescue, and during the whole time I kept her warm, ignoring my own shivers and chills. When the storm finally relinquished its hold on the mortal world, I crawled out from under the trees, still holding the small child to my chest tightly. I looked around at what the fury of the storm had wreaked on the once-lovely garden.  
  
Sighing, I just started walking towards the door that led into the kitchen where the garden was positioned off of when another sudden burst of wind knocked me to the ground.  
  
Cursing myself, I looked up and nearly choked on what little breath I had. One of my favorite sayings was the usual, 'out of the frying pan and into the fire', as a very familiar black-haired wolf demon prince stood before me, his usual cocky grin permanently plastered to his face. Now I know why a certain hanyou gets so pissed at that. It was just plain annoying.  
  
But what got me started was the fact he had Rin tucked under one arm. "If you want to see this girl alive, bring your lord to the Wolf Tribe's lair," he told me, obviously confident I'd tell my lord Sesshoumaru.  
  
He raced off, his tailwind kicking dirt into my face and making my throat in serious need of water. "Damn it," I ground out, one of my many elaborate facades falling away at the thought of my surrogate daughter being kidnapped just after we were in a terrible storm. "I'll get you for this, you damn wolf prince Kouga!" I growled, shaking my fist at the departing demon. I ran back inside, a plan forming within my mind.  
  
A few minutes later, I was rushing about the storage room of the castle, putting together a sack of the supplies I would need to go after Kouga. Of course I wouldn't tell Sesshoumaru. He'd kill me, and probably go after Rin anyway. I shook my head and picked out a nice thick cloak that would keep my warm at night and not to mention keep me dry from the weather.  
  
"Where are you going, wench?"  
  
I spun around to come face to face with Sesshoumaru, who looked down at me with an emotion that made me shake in my sneakers. Pity shone in his eyes like a bright beacon, something I'd never seen on anyone's face when they looked at me. But now... he looked at me with such pity in those eyes, I began to hate him. "You gave me a duty. I'm doing just as you asked me to do," I told him, turning my back on him, (Stupid.) and went pack to stuffing the sack with a large sheet of canvas, some padding, and a small amulet with a symbol that meant safe traveling for wanderers.  
  
He grabbed my arm, jerking me around to face him. His amber eyes locked with mine and he leaned forward. "Tell me what happened now."  
  
I sighed, knowing that once this whole scenario was over, I'd die. But it didn't matter. I was good as dead already. "Forgive me, my lord, but this is for the best," I whispered, kissing his startled mouth as my energy sword shot through his stomach, piercing the armor.  
  
Stunned by the kiss and the attack, he fell to the floor, falling unconscious.  
  
I smiled slowly down at him, my hand rising to my lips in wonder. My first kiss... but it hadn't been true. I had stolen it from him, while stabbing him with my energy sword. Shaking my head, I stepped over his limp body and hurried out the door to uncertainty and determination. I'm coming Rin, just hang on.

* * *

End Chapter 4: Numbed Wolf Encounters


	5. V

Bankotsu: She doesn't own Inuyasha. Only Angie and Alex Warr.

* * *

Chapter 5: Let Me See Your Personality

* * *

I had left the castle quickly, before they could discover what I had done to their lord. Knowing that he was a demon and could heal from the wound I had inflicted, I had not tarried long. I'd only waited long enough to snatch a plain kimono from another servant, along with some food from the kitchen; not to mention the map I found in his lordship's study. All these I took with me, a grim determination set in my heart, cold and uncaring. Nothing would stand in my way of retrieving Rin.  
  
Only a few miles away from the castle late at night did I hear the bell that tolled sorrow for the surrounding area. During my stay there among the servants, I'd learned to tell how many bell tolls meant what; three meant a birth, five a wedding, ten a death, and four the lord was found hurt in his own home. Little did they know, I was that this missing servant was the one who'd caused damage to our lord.  
  
Nothing much happened after the bell tolled and I went on my way. I'd learned to go without sleep for long periods at a time, so I could travel at night without threat of falling asleep on my feet. The road was well used, but nobody aside from myself traveled it now, which I was glad for. If this had been like back home, I'd be suspected immediately because I was retreating from the scene of the crime.  
  
I continued along the road, and it wasn't until around ten the next morning, as my cell phone read, that I found myself near the mountains that were sure to be where Kouga's tribe was. I recognized them from when I'd watched the show so there was no mistaking them. Not to mention that the map had a little 'x' where the Northern Wolf Tribe was stationed.  
  
Looking around for any way to scale the enormous cliffs in less then it took for the long winding paths, I noticed then a scraggly-looking tree growing at the bottom of a cliff face, truly a rock-climbers dream. I bent down to examine it more closely, blinking when I saw that a knot in the trunk resembled a face. "What the hell...?" I whispered to myself confusedly.  
  
"I am the demon tree Naizen," I heard within my mind. If I hadn't experienced this mind-reading bit before, I swear I was insane.  
  
"Are you... are you alright, Naizen-san?" I asked the demon tree, noting how the leaves on his branches drooped, lacking their normal green luster.  
  
"I have been awaiting you're arrival for some time, girl from a distant land," came the voice again, choking out the words as if an old man's last dying breath. "Since the oni's spirit came to me within a dream, telling me of you saving him from the shard's intoxicating caress, I have been aware of you're presence. I knew that you were holed up in the Lord of the Western Land's castle, yet here you are now, attempting a rescue."  
  
I nodded slowly, my fingers moving automatically to touch the circlet I wore, the peridot flashing a bit. "Yes. A human girl I was put in charge to care for. She was taken by Kouga, leader of the Northern wolf demon tribe," I said, deciding to trust him. "Do you perhaps know of a quick route up to the den?"  
  
The branches moved slightly, a sign I took to mean as a yes. "I do, strange human. But before, I need a favor from you... as my last dying wish for today."  
  
Nodding again, tears pricked my eyes; yet another demon would be dying before me, and I couldn't do a thing. Why did Fate have to be so cruel to me? All I had ever wished for was to find someone to love me for who I am, and not care whose sister I was, or that I was blamed for everything she'd ever done.  
  
"Do not weep for me, strange human. My time has come, at last. The poison Naraku had placed in a shard meant for Lord Kouga has affected me. I ask this of you child: with my last energy, I shall transform into a wooden pole that can extend to any length. That is the easiest way to Lord Kouga's den..."  
  
With those words, the tree faded from my sight, leaving a light golden pole in his place, along with a black glowing shard. Tears trailed down my cheeks as I picked up the pole, clutching it my chest. Two demons had given me gifts, just because they thought I'd saved their lives. Two lives I could not bring back, even if I had the completed sacred jewel.  
  
And a dark part inside my heart loved the thought of all the pain that followed me.  
  
†  
  
I stood at the foot of the cliff, looking up and trying to see the top of it. The sun had tilted so that it was in my eyes, and I was unable to see the top. I knew it was up there, I just couldn't see it. It was the back entrance to Kouga's den, one that they hadn't shown in the show, but it was there. I'd gone around to the front of the den first, but Kouga's two lackeys, I forget their names, were on guard duty. Fortunately for me, I was downwind, so they hadn't smelled me out.  
  
Gripping the pole I'd received from Naizen-san, I ran firmly planted it in the ground, taking a firm hold on the other end. "Okay, Pole, let's go save Rin," I whispered to it, sending a burst of my own power through the wood, making the staff extend at an alarming rate.  
  
I still hadn't learned how to control the thing, even though I'd been practicing getting up cliffs and such for over half an hour while traveling to this place. So, as a precaution, I waited about only a millisecond after it went past the landing to stop the flow of energy, still gripping the pole, and jumped down onto the ledge. The end of the pole came up and shrunk back to its normal size, which I carefully tucked into my belt loop.  
  
Here I was, a strange sight with my modern-day clothes, a kimono about my shoulders left untied, a circlet adorning my forehead, and a golden wooden pole sticking out of the side of my belt loop on my jeans. Not to mention a map was sticking out of one of my pockets.  
  
"Kouga!" I shouted, making sure my voice reverberated throughout the surrounding area. "Come out here and bring Rin with you, you bastard wolf!" That would sure as hell bring him running, but I just hoped he wouldn't tackle me using those shards in his legs.  
  
A tornado came out of the cave, racing toward me. Sure it was Kouga, I barely had enough time to fall to the side as he came out of the tornado at me with a flying kick.  
  
"Why didn't you bring your master, wench?" He growled at me, landing a couple yards from where I lay, winded from the fall. "I gave you precise instructions to bring your lord here to retrieve the ningen girl, human."  
  
Gritting my teeth as I stood up slowly, I barely held the psycho side of me in check. If I wasn't careful, he'd be the one to release the scary side of me, the one that liked to inflict pain... Shaking myself out of it, I sighed and folded my arms across my chest. "Why should I bring my former lord when it is my duty to protect Rin?"  
  
He blinked at me, suddenly startled by what I'd revealed. "What do you mean by your 'former' lord, wench?" He demanded.  
  
I shrugged, making sure my movement was hidden as my left hand went for my staff. I had to keep him busy, so I told him, "I mean that once I return with Rin to my former lord's castle, he'll surely kill me for two reasons: one was letting something happen to Rin, and the other for incapacitating him in order to go and save her."  
  
He nodded slowly, his body visibly relaxing at my given explanation. Why didn't it keep him on guard? Come on, doesn't everyone know that no one could ever possibly incapacitate Sesshoumaru without first being killed? "You brought it on yourself, wench. After all, you're just stupid human bitch. All ningen are like that, except for my mate Kagome, of course."  
  
That did it. My other side, the sadistic one, broke free of the feeble restraints just as my hand reached the extending staff at my side. I don't remember anything beyond that. I simply blanked out...  
  
Normal POV  
  
"You bloody bastard!" The strange human girl screamed at him as she launched forward, grasping a light golden staff. Her short brown hair flew about her heart-shaped face, while her dark eyes glared at him angrily, wildly. "You die now!"  
  
Dancing back as she swung the staff at him, Kouga blinked as he saw a faint tinge of red around the girl's eyes, like he'd seen happy with Inuyasha when the half-demon had turned into his full demon side. "Wench! Stop it right now!" He demanded, growling at the human. Most humans would have stopped by then, but of course, most humans wouldn't have attempted to save a human girl by themselves.  
  
Flipping in mid air, she used the pole to stop herself from flying over the cliff. She landed on her feet daintily, her face pulled back into a cross between a haughty and livid expression. "You think you can order me around, demon?! Hah! You do not even know the kind of power I wield, weakling," she snapped, the wild look still in her eyes.  
  
Has the girl snapped? Kouga asked himself as she launched another volley of swipes at him, never pausing between each stroke. She seemed wild and untamed, a true creature of the natural world about them.  
  
Suddenly realizing what she was, Kouga made the mistake of pausing from dodging, which in turn gave her the chance to whack him on the side of the head, sending him flying into the cliff face.  
  
"Hah! I knew you were weak, demon," she laughed, standing over his prone body, the golden staff raised for a killing blow.  
  
Seeing his chance a second before she brought the stick crashing down, the wolf demon used the shards in his legs to spring up, throwing his arms around her, locking her arms to her side as he buried his face in her neck. "Sleep," he whispered into her mind, barely keeping her struggling body under control. "Sleep. Sleep now..."  
  
"Uh... Wh... What are you doing to me?" She asked drowsily, her body falling limp in his arms. "You... weakl...ing..."  
  
Panting from the exhaustion from evading her attacks, Kouga sat down with the girl still in his grasp. He lifted his face away from her neck, staring down at her blissfully slumbering face in wonderment. "I haven't seen one in such a long time... I thought they were extinct."

* * *

End Chapter 5: Let Me See Your Personality


	6. VI

Bankotsu: She doesn't own Inuyasha. Only Angie and Alex Warr.  
  
Auruyasha: Is anyone ever going to review my story other then that first person? Geez louise!  
  
Bankotsu: sniggers Maybe it's because you're just a really lousy writer, Auru-chan.  
  
Auruyasha: eye twitch Care to say that to Ol' Betsy? gets out a shotgun and calks the hammer back  
  
Bankotsu: sweat drop and nervous laugh Hehehe... Please review or she's going to murder me!

* * *

Chapter 6: Broken Love Record

* * *

I don't know how long I had been out of it, but when I woke up I was cuddled against something warm and hard. It took me a few minutes to realize what it was, as I'd never experienced anything like it before. Sure, I'd slept in my parent's bed before, but it always been beside my mother, not to mention the fact that my real father and step-father both had beer guts. Now this, this was pure muscle I was laying against.  
  
"I see you're awake, ningen," he whispered, his breath tickling my ear, which I hadn't realized was sensitive until that moment. "That's good. Now maybe you could stop rubbing against me?"  
  
Jerking away and shooting up off the ground, I almost fell down twice as blood rushed to my head. I clutched my chest when I realized who I'd been sleeping, or, what he'd said, 'rubbing' against until I saw his beautiful blue eyes and confident features grin up at me from the straw pallet on the ground. "Holy. Hell." I had the grace to say, knowing then that was the first time ever that I had blushed. "Kouga?!"  
  
He chuckled as he rose from the pallet, and I swear, my mouth would have dropped. Why, oh why did my hormones have to suddenly kick in at this second?!  
  
"You may now call me King Kouga, girl. I have marked you as a servant of mine, so you must address me thusly," he smirked arrogantly, pointing to my neck.  
  
Self-conscious, I touched my neck and felt a damp spot. God, please don't tell me he gave me a hicky! It got worse when I drew my hand away and saw that it wasn't spit, but rather blood. My blood. "You... You bit me!" I exclaimed stupidly.  
  
He laughed out right, nodding with that arrogant grin of his. "That's how we wolf demons mark our servants, ningen. I'm surprised Sesshoumaru hadn't done the same thing. Those dirty dog demons do that to, you know."  
  
Is that why I constantly saw a hicky on my sister's neck? Had Sesshoumaru marked her as his 'pleasure' servant? That was very laughable. Unfortunately, at the moment, I was getting an eyeful of my new lord's chest as he didn't have his usual armor on.  
  
But what got me, and I hate to admit it, was that I suddenly felt a tad wet in my private area from staring at Kouga so much. Okay, my hormones are officially raging now. Let's just hope I'd be getting pimples so he wouldn't notice how attracted I was to him at the moment.  
  
"My, you are a strange looking ningen, aren't you?" He whispered as he lifted my chin with his fingers, turning my face to the left and right slowly, as if studying my face. "You have the cheekbones of an aristocrat, yet the jaw of a brawler."  
  
Great. Now he thinks I was a brawler just because I'd broken my lower jaw when I'd been little. I can't help it that my sister had pushed me because I'd sat on her stuffed rabbit in the car!  
  
I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt his fingers caress the skin near my mouth. "But you have such a sweet little mouth. A mouth fit for a courtesan, I'd say..." He said, leaning dangerously close to my face.  
  
Please, please don't look at me like that, I kept screaming at him in my mind, mesmerized by his naming of my once hated attributes. I couldn't help but think that he was not seeing me, not Angela Warr, but Alexandra Warr, my twin sister, my archenemy.  
  
"Angie-sama!"  
  
I jerked away from his touch in time to catch Rin as she flew at me, tackling me with a bear hug and chattering on and on about how she'd helped catch fish since 'Uncle' Kouga had brought her here. Thank you Rin for your timely intrusion. I had my hormones safely back under control, but I still felt that little tug at my lower stomach, and I had this faint feeling of emptiness that I've only read about in romance novels. Hopefully, this was just a phase.  
  
I patted Rin's head and hugged her tightly, my motherly feelings overwhelming the aching in my stomach. However, a mix of the aching and motherly feelings soon overwhelmed my maternal instinct toward Rin. I recognized it belatedly as a wanting of a child of my own.  
  
God, somebody, please tell me what's wrong with me! I'm so confused...  
  
†  
  
The windswept valley from the vantage point of the cliff I sat on looked absolutely breath taking. I had always wanted to see a valley such as this un-sullied by modern inventions such as roads and telephone poles. Call me an oldie-lover, but I cannot help but admire this world I have stumbled into. It is so beautiful, with only very minimal signs of human inhabitation...  
  
"Oi, servant girl! Where's my roasted pig?!"  
  
And it can only be interrupted by one such as himself, Kouga, my 'new' lord.  
  
"Coming, Kouga-baka," I muttered under my breath, tearing off a piece of the pig I'd been roasting for his 'majesty'. No matter how much my body wanted his, I still couldn't stand his stupid disrespectful treatment of my person. For the past three days, I'd been subjected to the most brutal torture: for on, he made me call him King Kouga. Another, he made me prepare all his meals by scratch. I don't know how to cook! Third, Kouga hadn't let me eat for the past two days, because I couldn't cook for him! I'm getting hungry... And, lastly, the grand daddy of them all, the bastard still wouldn't let me take Rin and go back to Sesshoumaru. Not to mention that he let his pack mates maul me when I kept asking!  
  
Reaching him, I threw the piece of pork at him, a definite twitch in my eye. "Here you are, 'King' Kouga," I growled at him, my fists clenched.  
  
He caught the piece of meat and sat up from his lounging position, inspecting the meat with a critical eye. "You burnt it again, servant girl. No dinner for you again," he murmured, eating the meat anyway.  
  
I froze on the spot, tears coming to my eyes; no matter how many times my sister had been ruthless, she hadn't let me starve to death! At this rate, I'd be a walking stick by the time anyone found me!  
  
"Y-y-you fucking asshole!" I screamed at him, turning on my heel and running out the backside of the cave, not paying attention to where my feet led me. I dug my hand in my pocket for the emergency ration of M&M's, but they had been long gone by the fifth day I'd spent at Sesshoumaru's castle.  
  
Finally opening my eyes, I saw that I was at the cliff edge where I'd challenged Kouga that first day. Not taking a moment's rest, I sat immediately on the edge and began kicking my legs like a little girl, trying to vent my anger and sorrow in the simple movement while wiping my tears away.  
  
"Why did you run off, servant girl?"  
  
I sniffed and turned my face away when he sat down beside me, his stupid wolf's tail flicking back and forth. "I have the right to remain silent!" I told him stubbornly.  
  
He chuckled and grasped me about the waist, pulling me to his chest. I resisted him as best I could, but that didn't amount to much. He had my entire body at his disposal, all but my head, which I kept angrily turned to the side. "According to your lord, you have only the rights I give you. And, as of now, I give you no rights. Now, tell me, what's wrong, servant girl?"  
  
Sniffing again, I grit my teeth and stared at my hands. "Through all the torture my sister has inflicted on me, shed has never let me starve to death, or go without water!" I practically barked at him.  
  
He chuckled again and pulled me closer. "You're so silly, servant girl! All you have to do is recognize me as your new lord, and you'll get food and water enough to keep you content."  
  
He. He was telling me to surrender to him?! Completely?!  
  
Wait... Now that I think about it... When I was Sesshoumaru's servant, I still had say over my actions. I hadn't been a real servant, the kind Kouga's talking about... Would I be able to surrender everything I've worked so hard to keep my own? Will I let him take it all from me?  
  
"No," I clenched my fists angrily, tears streaming out of my closed eyes, shut tight enough that I saw lights dancing behind my eyelids. "No... I'll never surrender myself to you!"  
  
I wrenched out of his arms, calling out my energy sword without thinking and attacking him. It was all nature and instinct for me then, but my mind still worked a little. I could tell what I was doing, but had little control over how my body was acting.  
  
He dodged my first attack, and several others after that, as if he could predict my moves.  
  
Wait. He's a wolf demon! Back home, wolves are known for their hunting grace and honor, not to mention their fighting instinct. They were also canines, and could smell fear and any other emotion radiating off my body.  
  
Forcing my body into stillness, I grinned at him. "You've only fought the wild side of me, eh, Kouga?" I asked him, poison dripping on every word. He looked at me strangely, a look I've never seen before. It made me rethink this strategy for a second, but only for a second. "Then try fighting both mind and body!"  
  
I rushed forward again, this time bringing out another energy sword, even loading my feet with the energy so that I could either fly, jump really high, or move really fast. I was thinking several moves ahead by the time he dodged one attack. It was like a chess game. And I just happened to play chess well enough.  
  
I ran past him and breakneck speed, turning my sword in the way I'd seen on TV once that would make the most impact with the least amount of exertion. My eyes widened as I felt the energy sword slip past the steel armor, tearing through flesh. I'd... actually landed a hit?! I paused, turning around to see him clutching his side, down on one knee. My god... I had really hurt him...  
  
My energy sword shimmered to nothing as I lowered my head, gritting my teeth. I can't blame others for my problems... I know too well that everything that has happened is my fault... Just because I had to be greedy...  
  
I got down on my knees, pressing my forehead to the ground. Damn it all, I would apologize to him, no matter how much my pride suffered. It wasn't like he'd harmed my person, except for maybe my stomach as it kept attacking the fat I had stored in my body for sustenance.  
  
"Kouga... I... am sorry, for the harm I have caused on your person," I said, trying to staunch the tears that threatened to make me grovel pathetically at his feet. "Please forgive my impertinence... I only wanted..." I paused, knowing that I was being greedy again. "I will do anything for you now, my lord... Just forgive me for harming you..."  
  
"I will not, wench!"  
  
I gasped and lifted my head in time to dodge a little as he attacked me, his eyes flashing red as he stared into my own.  
  
"Learn your place, bitch!" He barked, using a high kick to knock me off balance.  
  
"Nyaaa!!!" I cried out, flying into the air and landing several feet away. I didn't get up, for I knew what he wanted. He wanted my complete and utter surrender, and the only way to do that was... "Forgive me..." I whispered, lying still as he tore at my clothes.  
  
.  
  
I once watched as one of my friend sat, listening to a broken record. A few weeks after I saw her like that, she'd committed suicide. At the time, I'd asked her why didn't she get it repaired, but she'd only said...  
  
"It's broken... Because I'm broken..."

* * *

End Chapter 6: Broken Love Record

* * *

Auruyasha: sniffles Poor Angie! Kouga, you meanie! How could you rape her?!  
  
Kouga: Nani?!?!?!  
  
Inuyasha: Hehehe... Kouga, I didn't know you had it in you.  
  
Auru&Kouga: Perra.  
  
Inuyasha: Oi! Don't call me that!  
  
Auruyasha: Adios! 


End file.
